Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja on Tuesday handed down 14-year prison terms to two oil marketers, Mamman Nasir Ali and Christian Taylor, for their roles in a โฆ2.2 billion fuel subsidy fraud.
The duo, along with their company, Nasaman Oil Services Limited, faced an amended 57-count charge after new evidence emerged in the case.
They had originally been arraigned on 49 counts accusing them of conspiracy to obtain money by false pretence, forgery, and using falsified documents.
All three defendants pleaded not guilty.One count detailed how, on November 9, 2011, the marketers and two now-fugitive accomplices allegedly conspired โto obtain the sum of N749,991,273.36 โฆ by falsely claiming that the sum represented subsidy accruing to Nasaman Oil Services Ltd under the Petroleum Support Fund for the importation of 10,031,986 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) โฆ which representation you knew to be false.โ
Another count accused them of similarly defrauding the government of N1,480,074,125.61 on April 11, 2011, by claiming subsidy on 20,492,982.50 litres of PMS purportedly imported through shell companies in the British Virgin Islands.
Following Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjoโs withdrawal from the matter, the case was reassigned to Justice Dada. During the trial, Prosecutor Seiduh Atteh called several witnesses and tendered documentary evidence to establish how the subsidies were claimed without the requisite importation taking place.
Delivering her judgment, Justice Dada described the defendantsโ actions as โnot only a serious breach of trust, but an assault on the integrity of Nigeriaโs oil subsidy programme.โ She found the prosecutionโs evidence compelling and convicted Ali and Taylor on all counts.
In addition to the prison terms, Justice Dada ordered the forfeiture of assets and bank accounts linked to the fraudulent transactions. She also issued warrants for the arrest of two other suspectsโOluwaseun Ogunbambo and Olabisi Abdul-Afeezโwho remain at large.
The convictions mark one of the highest-profile judgments under Nigeriaโs ongoing campaign to curb subsidy corruption.
